A nonprofit that aims to educate people about the future of broadband technology will host an event at Ohio University on Friday.
This event comes two weeks after the organization, Connect Ohio, hosted its first Technology Association meeting of the quarter in Columbus. Friday’s meeting is held in conjunction with OU’s McClure School of Information and Telecommunication Systems.
Connect Ohio is a nonprofit organization that promotes broadband usage and provides the most up-to-date service map for Ohio, illustrating where each county stands in terms of percentage of people with broadband access.
At Friday’s meeting, Connect Ohio intends to raise awareness of the value of broadband and how technology access can be improved through their programs, said Technical Outreach Coordinator Benj Foor.
“(The meeting) will be a deep dive into Appalachian broadband and we plan on talking about the technical assistance that we do,” Foor said.
Connect Ohio offers seminars and lessons enabling businesses to promote their company through broadband and online websites.
The meeting will feature speakers from various local Internet providers including Horizon Telecom, OARnet, Intelliwave, AT&T Wireless/Mobility and Frontier Communications.
Anyone interested in the business and technology aspects of communications are welcome to attend, said OU Associate Professor John Hoag.
“Those who have a regional interest in the economic and social life of southeast Ohio might choose to spend their Friday morning with us,” he said.
The meeting will be held Friday in Walter Hall room 235 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
“A few hundred people might be a stretch,” Hoag said. “I’d be very impressed if 100 different people attended. Then again, if 99 people show up I’ll have to eat my words.”
az346610@ohio.edu
